Arizona Technology Council Releases Results of Arizona Policy Benchmark Survey

Arizona Voters Surveyed on Current Public Policy Issues Affecting
the Future of the State
PHOENIX--(Business Wire)--
The Arizona Technology Council today released results of an
Arizona survey assessing the public opinion of a range of Arizona
public policy issues.

The new survey suggests that Arizonans are split on the question
of whether the state is going in the right direction (45 percent) or
has seriously gotten off on the wrong track (40 percent). The majority
of Arizonans (47 percent) describe the state economy these days as
good, while 38 percent describe it as not so good and 12 percent
describe it as poor.

Findings indicated that Arizonans feel illegal immigration should
be the top priority for the Governor and the state legislature,
followed by education, jobs and the economy; taxes; spending and the
state budget; and health care and prescription drugs.

Thinking specifically about Arizona's state budget, 86 percent of
Arizonans are concerned that the state is facing a budget shortfall of
three billion dollars over the next two years, while 14 percent are
not. Arizonans appeared to be roughly split on whether they agree (48
percent) that it is going to take tough choices, including spending
cuts to important programs such as law enforcement, health care and
education or disagree (49 percent). When considering if the state
legislature should be given more control over a larger portion of the
budget in times of major budget shortfall, 49 percent are in favor
while 42 percent are opposed.

As a means to address the budget shortfall, a clear majority of
Arizonans (75 percent) are opposed to the state legislature
considering an increase in property taxes. Sixty-three percent opposed
significantly increasing the fees for registering automobiles,
renewing driver's licenses and other types of user fees while 60
percent opposed increasing the state income tax.

If the Governor and state legislature agree to reduce the budget
shortfall through spending cuts, 36 percent selected welfare as the
state program that should receive reduced funding, followed by
transportation (24 percent), state colleges and universities (23
percent), Department of Corrections (17 percent) and school
construction (16 percent). Support for an increase in the state sales
tax was mixed as 54 percent opposed and 45 percent were in favor of
the proposal.

The poll also found that Arizonans overwhelmingly think the best
way to pay for the construction of new schools is as they are built
(74 percent) while 18 percent agree that borrowing the money is the
best strategy.

"As the largest technology association in Arizona serving all tech
sectors across the state, Arizona Technology Council feels it is
important to provide its membership with valuable tools such as the
results of this survey for keeping a pulse on public opinions
regarding important state policy matters," said Steven Zylstra,
president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. "We will continue
to execute our mission of leading on the issues that are relevant to
technology growth to address the long-term health of Arizona's economy
in a meaningful and significant way."

The Arizona state survey was conducted by Public Opinion
Strategies based on telephone interviews with 500 adults on March
11-12, 2008. The results are subject to a margin of sampling error of
approximately plus or minus 4.4 percent. The survey was conducted on
behalf of the Arizona Technology Council. The complete results of the
survey can be found at:
here%20Policy%20Survey%
20IS.pdf. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted
into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if
one exists.)

About the Arizona Technology Council

Since its inception in 2002, the Arizona Technology Council has
stood as the largest association of technology companies in Arizona,
whose shared vision is for the state to be recognized as a top-tier
center for technology-based businesses. The Council works to carry out
this vision by driving partnerships, policies and programs that
advance the business climate for Arizona's technology community. By
representing, supporting and advocating for member companies through
initiatives, advocacy, networking and effective communications, the
Arizona Technology Council has had tremendous success in moving
Arizona towards becoming a top-tier technology state. The Arizona
Technology Council represents 35,000-plus employees at more than 450
of the leading technology companies across Arizona. Represented
industries include advanced manufacturing, aerospace, biotechnology,
e-learning, environmental technology, software, Internet applications,
semiconductors and telecommunications. To become a member or to learn
more about the Arizona Technology Council, please visit
www.aztechcouncil.org

LVA Communications
Linda Capcara, 480-229-7090
linda@lva.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008